1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to gun rests for firearms, and more particularly, to a gun rest which is normally carried in a folded, retracted and telescoping configuration beneath the barrel of a gun or rifle, and which can be quickly and selectively extended to provide a secure rest for aiming the gun or rifle at a selected elevation. The gun rest of this invention is light in weight, compact, normally aligned with and positioned beneath the rifle barrel when not in use, and is capable of quick and easy pivotal and locked extension to provide a functional rest of selected length with minimum effort. In preferred embodiments of the invention the concentrically positioned, telescoping tubes and cylinders are provided with grommets and compression fittings, respectively, to effectively lock the tubes and cylinders in the extended configuration, and to facilitate return to the retracted position when it is desired to restore the monopod to its non-functional, folded configuration.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Gun rests of varying description and design have been in existence since the advent of firearms. Perhaps the earliest known rest was a forked stick of selected length used to support the barrel of a gun while aiming and firing. Such rests were known in the Revolutionary War and were, in many instances, considered to be essential equipment for sharp-shooters and snipers that era. Gun rests were particularly significant and useful during this time period because of the extremely heavy weight which characterized the guns and muskets used, which bulk necessitated either a portable rest, or the use of a tree or fence post to support the barrel of the weapon. Typical of the gun rests of an early era is that described in British Pat. No. 15,996 to E. C. Abella, which discloses a gun support having one end hingedly attached to a rifle or gun at a point forward of the trigger guard, and the opposite end secured to the user's belt. The device was designed to telescope and cradle the gun in order to facilitate a steady aim and greater accuracy.
Bipod support attachments for weapons are particularly well known in the art. Typical of such supports is the bipod gun mount for military application which is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,235,997 to E. M. Stoner, which device includes a spring-loaded, folding and adjustable bipod mount positioned on the front end of a firearm for support in aiming and firing the weapon. Another bipod mount is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,327,422 to G. Harris, which device is adapted for attachment to a firearm, and includes a chair having a pivoting seat and back, and mounted on a base to swing forwardly and upwardly. A link system supported by the seat is provided with a leg rest on the front end, which is disposed beneath the seat when retracted and in parallel relation therewith and with itself, in all positions during movement from retracted to extended configuration.
Most of the gun rests or mounts disclosed in the prior art were designed for military application, with the bipod mounts having specific application to relatively heavy, automatic or semi-automatic weapons which were designed to be fired while in the prone position. These mounts are characteristically heavy and cumbersome and are generally adjustable only to a limited degree.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a new and improved monopod rest for firearms which is adjustable and light in weight, and which may be removably and pivotally mounted on the barrel of substantially any gun or rifle for quick and easy deployment from a compact and convenient stored configuration.
Another object of this invention is to provide a new and improved monopod gun rest for substantially any firearm which is characterized by a plurality of light, nested and tapered telescoping members which are biased in a normally retracted configuration, and which may be removably and rotatably clamped to the barrel of a firearm for selective, pivotal, downward extension and locking to provide a stedy, efficient and secure rest during aiming and firing of the gun or rifle, and to permit rotation of the gun or rifle barrel in the barrel clamp or clamps when the weapon is sighted on a moving target.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a monopod firearm rest which includes a plurality of light, telescoping cylinders which can be biased in an extended configuration by means of compression fittings, the monopod mounted in pivotal relationship to the barrel of the firearm by means of a removable clamp.
Yet another object of this invention is to provide a new and improved, light-weight gun rest which can be removably mounted on the barrels of guns and rifles of substantially any description, which rest is characterized by a pivoting, telescoping monopod featuring multiple cylinders or tubes and designed to rest in an essentially parallel relationship to and beneath the firearm barrel forward of the forestock when not in use, and in a deployed configuration, is pivoted downwardly, typically to a position at essentially 90.degree. with respect to the barrel, with the tubes or cylinders extended downwardly from a base tube in temporarily locked position to provide a steady rest for aiming and firing the firearm.
Yet another object of this invention is to provide a new and improved, light-weight gun rest which is characterized by a telescoping monopod featuring a base tube and multiple, tapered interior tubes, which monopod is pivotally mounted on a clamp capable of being removably and rotatably clamped to or mounted on the gun barrel of a firearm forward of the forestock to permit rapid downward pivoting of the monopod and extension and locking of the tapered, multiple, concentric tubes from the base tube in the monopod by means of grommets attached to the tubes, to a selected height in order to provide a rest for secure aiming and shooting of the firearm.